Philippe Zivan Sussholz, director and CEO of Israeli diamond manufacturer Yahalomei Espeka International Ltd. (YEI), has donated $100,000 to the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) Endowment Fund to support synthetic diamond research. In recognition of the gift, Sussholz will be inducted into GIA’s League of Honor in 2005.

“I feel I have been gifted by society and that it is my duty to give back,” said Sussholz, a GIA Graduate Gemologist. “I am well aware of the possible dangers to our trade. I remember studying about the introduction of synthetic sapphire and ruby and I recall that prices of natural rubies rocketed once the synthetics were identified. I see it as a mission of our generation to support activity that helps us identify what we’re dealing with.”

YEI, a De Beers Diamond Trading Company (DTC) sightholder was established in 1969 by Sussholz’s father, Abraham. The company now employs 2,050 persons and has offices in Israel, China, New York, and Hong Kong.

For more information about GIA’s Endowment Fund, contact Jane Lynch, director of institute relations, at jane.lynch@gia.edu or call 800-421-7250, ext. 4114. Outside the U.S., call 760-603-4114 or visit www.gia.edu.

JCK